


Beth Harmon’s Life With Cats

by criminalromantic



Category: The Queen's Gambit (TV)
Genre: Benny is really good with cats, Beth is getting organized, Cats, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, I just love Beth and cats okay, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Pets, he is an actual cinnamon roll, we love to see it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29161302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/criminalromantic/pseuds/criminalromantic
Summary: When Beth comes home with the triumphant victory against Vasily Borgov under her belt, she feels like she can breathe freely again. She doesn’t know what she wants to do, but she knows what she doesn’t want to do anymore.
Relationships: Beth Harmon/Benny Watts
Comments: 75
Kudos: 141
Collections: Beth and Benny (The Queen's Gambit), bookmarks





	1. Keep a tidy space

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is an idea, that I’ve had for a while and I didn’t know how exactly I was going to write it, but I love it too much to abandon it. This is very Beth-centric at first, but other characters will start coming in soon. So, if you like Beth Harmon and cute little kittens, this is for you. Enjoy :)

_ Cat advice for living: _

  1. _Keep a tidy space._



Beth Harmon was a mess through and through. She knew it. Everybody around her knew it and they didn’t dare to sugarcoat it. Over time she had heard some really nasty words addressed to her. Sometimes they hit hard and motivated her to get herself together. Other times the words would reach her ears and get lost on their way to the brain. She noticed a pattern, that when she was sober, even the most subtle remark could get to her. On the other hand, when she was drunk or on the pills, the substance served as a fine barrier that kept it all out. She could focus. She was sharp, precise, coming for her opponent’s blood. It was an escape. Sadly for her, it was impossible for her to escape these destructive habits.

But she was willing to try. 

After Russia, she felt like she was starting with a clean slate. A blank page in front of her. Of course, this was different than when she was a little girl, who discovered chess in the basement of her orphanage. It wasn’t like that kind of clean slate. Now she was a famous chess player, who made a name for herself. She was on the covers of magazines, made a lot of money, and bought a lot of beautiful clothes in beautiful places all around the world. There were responsibilities tied to that. She had to play a game of chess with the president, do a press tour, lots of interviews, photoshoots, phone calls with the chess federation, fun times. But she felt relieved. She went to Moscow and managed to beat Vasily Borgov. It felt like banishing an old ghost from the past. Like when a tense chapter in a book ends and you know that from that point, things will only get better.

When she arrived at her Lexington home after spending a few extra days in Russia, she felt like a different person. The first thing that hit her when she opened the door was a heavy smell of a house, where no one opened the windows for days, maybe weeks. After she put her bags inside next to the stairs and closed the door, a more specific smell hit her nose. The smell of alcohol. She was paralyzed for a moment and stared blankly at her living room. She shook her head and opened all the downstairs windows to let the house air out. Then she grabbed her bags, brought them upstairs, unpacked, and changed into something more comfortable.

It was time to clean up a bit. 

There was a lot of alcohol bottles in the house. Open and half-empty, empty, unopened and full, some broken. The ones that still had some liquid in them looked tempting, but Beth knew better. She spilled it all down the drain. As for the pills, after nearly an hour, they all culminated in her bathroom, where Beth shamelessly flushed them down the toilet.

She stepped outside with 4 full bags of empty alcohol bottles and she knew they wouldn't all fit in her garbage can and decided to find a container. It was a longer walk than she expected, probably because the heavy bags were slowing down and the sound of the glass clinking together was not helping. Eventually, she found a large container in a mostly vacant parking lot and swiftly dropped the bags into it. She felt free and not just because her arms could now rest. She turned to leave, but a cry-like sound made her turn back around. It was very faint, but she heard it, she was sure of it. Slowly she walked around the containers, hoping to identify where the sound was coming from, refusing to leave. Then she saw a little glimpse of white under one of them and immediately crouched down to see what it was. She didn't expect to see that. It was a little kitten.

“Hi,” Beth whispered, hoping she wouldn't scare the poor creature away. She was a little taken aback when the kitten crawled from under the garbage container and moved towards her. Then she could see the actual color of the kitten's fur. It was white, so dirty it nearly looked gray, but in reality, it was white. Carefully she stretched her hand to pet the little cat. It flinched a bit, but as Beth finally put her hand on the kitten and stroked softly, she was rewarded with purrs. 

At that moment, to Beth's surprise, another cat emerged from the dark. This one was all black and probably curious, too.

“Well, hello, you.” Beth couldn't help, but feel a little enamored by the situation. It doesn't happen every day that a chess player finds two kittens, one white and one black. She had to laugh, if anyone walked past her then, they would probably think she had gone mad. She wouldn't be the first chess prodigy in history to go crazy. Maybe she was still a bit high off the biggest victory of her life when she decided to take them home. 

She really didn't know much about cats or taking care of pets in general. After getting back home, she felt a bit lost with two kittens. So she made a plan. The first thing she had to do was to make sure they were okay. According to the vet, they were a little malnourished but other than that they were in a good shape. They asked her, if she was planning on keeping them, or if they should put them up for adoption.  _ This is the last time you can change your mind, _ she heard in her mind.

“I'll keep them.” The vet smiled at her. After they received their vaccinations, she received two little notepads of some sort. She was told they were for tracking the pets' check-ups, vaccinations, or other conditions. Apparently, they were seven weeks old. She wanted to laugh when they told her that the white one was a girl and the black a boy.  _ Who does that remind me of?  _ Then they asked if she ever owned a cat before.

“N-no.” Next, she was given a leaflet on cat care, which she quickly skimmed through before leaving.

She brought the kittens home and let them explore the house freely, while she read the leaflet. It reminded her of the times she studied chess games from leaflets before she went to Russia.

After she finished reading, she shot up from her couch. She had a pet store to go to and she had to buy some things. She saw the kittens curled up together on her kitchen floor, sleeping in a spot that was illuminated by sunshine. She smiled at the sight and quietly left the house.

She came back decorated with bags of all sizes like a Christmas tree. She bought two cat beds, food and water bowls, a litter box, some toys, brushes, a scratching post, nail clippers, and lastly, collars. She got a white and a black collar because of course, she would. For a moment she thought it would be funny to put the white collar on the black cat and vise versa, but she disregarded it rather quickly. Better stick to traditions. Or even better, make some new ones.

She had to clean up her place, not much, but it had to be done. She rearranged the couch and the armchairs to make some rook for the scratching post. The bowls were set against a wall near the kitchen. As she was walking around the house chaotically, moving things around, putting the new things where it would make sense for them to be, she thought about something. 

Those kittens were orphans. Like her. Maybe that was another reason she decided to take them into her custody and take care of them. Looking at the two little balls of fur, who were still asleep, Beth could see two little animal souls, scared for their life, dreading what the next day would bring. Sure, she wasn't a cat, although she received a lot of compliments for her cat eyeliner, but she knew what it was like to be left in the world by herself.  _ Not anymore, little ones. _

Beth was in the kitchen when they woke up. She didn't hear them, but she nearly jumped when she felt something rubbing her feet.

“Hey, did you have a nice nap?” She picked both of them up to her chest, one in each hand.

“Let's get you something to eat.” When she filled their bowls for the first time, she had a good feeling about taking care of someone else besides her. For the longest time, she couldn't even take care of herself, but she had to grow up. Own up to her mistakes, acknowledge where she went wrong, and learn to pat herself on the back when she did something right. 

_ Names.  _

She realized she forgot to give the cats names. The essential thing that people do when they get a pet. She didn't think about it too long.

“You,” she reached to pet the black kitten, “are going to be Benjamin.”  _ Great, Beth, really creative. _

“And you,” she scratched the while one under the chin, “are going to be Elise.”  _ Naming a cat almost after yourself? Wow, love yourself that much? _

She could hear a certain blond's voice ringing in her head. So clearly, it almost sounded like he was in the room with her. Except she knew that was impossible.

As the day slowly came to an end, Beth played with the kittens a little. She led them to the litter box, which was easy, they were glued to her heels. She made a mental note to herself that she had to teach them how to use it.

That day Beth went to sleep and she didn't feel haunted by the ghosts of the past. Instead, she felt good, one might say motivated when she thought about the two little kittens sleeping soundly in the room with her. 


	2. Contact a human every so often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, welcome back, I want to thank you for all the love you have shown so far for the first chapter, I did not expect it. Enjoy chapter number two :)

_Cat advice for living:_

2. _Contact a human every so often._

Beth had accustomed to life with cats fairly quickly. They were good company, maybe a little too good for her own good. However, it had been about a month since she got back from Moscow and she craved some contact with an actual human being. 

She knew why she distanced herself from people those days. Strangely, she needed to be alone. She needed to be by herself when she overcame her demons. Every single time before, she had someone who kept watch over her. Harry, Benny, Jolene. Everyone, including Beth, thought that it was a good idea, that it would work for her, but it didn't. So, maybe, if she was alone for a change, if she learned to overcome her temptations by herself, she would never need that kind of help from anyone. She was determined to succeed. 

But sometimes, she wanted to talk to an actual person. She wanted something more than small talk with a neighbor or a quick chat. Something better than the niceties she would receive from the cashier in a grocery store. So, on one sunny afternoon, she stood in front of her telephone and went over her mental catalog of phone numbers. Who would she call? Harry? Nah. Mike and Matt? It would be weird for them to be the first people to call, they weren't that close. Townes? He was probably busy writing articles anyway. Levertov? Wexler? Weiss? That would be… strange at least and again, weird. Cleo? That could work, but she was surely enjoying herself god knows where.

She knew she was avoiding the two people that actually mattered. Two people she really wanted to talk to. Benny helped her beat Borgov and he called her in Moscow, which definitely must have cost him a bundle, as he said himself. But he also told her not to call him anymore. She honestly didn't know what to do. Maybe the call was an unspoken offer of a truce, a peace offering, an olive branch. But then maybe he was just fulfilling his patriotic duty as an American.

She decided to call Jolene. That seemed like the safest and most sensible option for her. They were friends, on more-less good terms.

The phone rang a couple of times before she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, Jolene.” Her voice was timid as if she was a child about to get scolded. Except, she didn't do anything bad, or she didn't know what she did.

“Congratulations, cracker!” She let out a huff of air upon hearing the words and smiled to herself. “I've been waiting for you to call. Are you back in the states?”

“Yeah, I've been back sometime now, keeping up the house and putting myself… together.” Her voice trembled a little saying the last word, but it didn't feel bad. It was true, she was putting herself together, by herself, without anyone's help. There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Well, I'm glad to hear that. Are you taking care of yourself?” _Am I?_ She thought.

“I guess you could say that. My house is now alcohol and drug-free. The place looks tidy now.” She looked around and felt proud. She wasn't lying to her childhood friend and it felt right. “Are you in town? I want to stop by. I'd like to thank you personally and give back the money, with generous interest. And I have a dress for you that I think you might like.”

“Yeah, I'm in town, why don't you come for dinner? I want to hear everything, every single little detail about your trip.” Beth smiled to herself. That was what she wanted. 

They talked some more, about random little things, saving the big topics for their face-to-face conversation. Beth suddenly felt a sharp pain near her ankle, she looked to see the white kitten biting her for attention. She excused herself and ended the phone call, then she took the kitten matter into her own hands. 

“You know, there are less painful ways to get my attention.” She told the cat and looked for the other one. The black kitten was currently walking across a chessboard set up on her coffee table, carefully avoiding the pieces.

She sat down on the floor to continue studying the game she set up in front of her before. Elise was comfortable curled up in her lap and Benjamin was sitting in the corner of her coffee table, watching what she was doing. Beth knew they were cats and they lacked the mental capacity to comprehend the complexity of chess, but sometimes Benjamin would let out a scream-like meow, when she made a wrong move, as if like saying _what the hell are you doing?_ Then, because he is still a cat, after all, he would knock the captured pieces off the table. When the game was over, she leaned back against the couch, mindlessly stroking the kitten in her lap.

Before she left the house to meet with her friend, she made sure the kittens had everything they needed. But then, when she saw them playing with her chess pieces, she knew they would be fine. It occurred to her that they could leave bite marks on the pieces and claw marks on the chessboard and she didn't mind. 

The dinner was better than she thought it would be. And not just food-wise. She told Jolene everything about the tournament, about the phone call from the boys, the victory, and the Sokolniki park, where she found herself spending most of her time, before eventually boarding on a plane back home. In the back of her mind, she was anxious that she would get some questions regarding her sobriety, but they never came. And she was thankful.

She told Jolene about the kittens.

“To be fair, you always kind of resembled a cat.”

“Really? How?” Beth took a sip of her coke after she finished eating.

“Well, for starters, you kinda look like one, with your eyeliner and kitten heels, that you wear a lot. And you act like one too, you calculate a lot, which comes with chess, I guess. Oh, and you show affection like a cat.” There was a pause.

“Show affection like a cat?” Beth whole-heartedly laughed and Jolene too.

“Yeah, I mean… how do I put it… You don't show affection for the sake of showing affection. You do it when you know it will be meaningful and leave a long-lasting impression. Most of the time it might seem like you don't care, but you do, and every now and then you show it, on your own terms. You're like a cat that spends its entire days exploring the outdoors and then comes back home to its person.” Beth was speechless. The more she thought about the words, the more she felt like she learned something new about herself.

“You're saying it like it's a good thing.” She looked down at her hands.

“Because it's not a bad thing, Beth. And besides, I'm glad you kept the cats, it might be good for you.”

“It is.” Her voice was overflowing with confidence as she said the words because she meant it. “Do you think Benny could forgive me?” She asked, her voice suddenly small again.

“Cracker, from what you told me, that boy is head over heels in love with you. Either that, or he's completely mad. Maybe both. But you need to talk to him.” On that note, Beth gathered her things and headed back home. It was dark and cold outside when she got back. She saw the kittens sleeping on the chessboard they were previously playing with. Upon inspecting the condition of the chessboard, she could see it was fine, with no traces of a ferocious kitten attack.

After feeding the kittens, playing with them, some chess training, she considered grabbing the telephone and dialing a certain cowboy hat-wearing chess master. 

“You can do it, Beth, you can't just sit around and live in your head all the time.” She grabbed the phone and put it to her ear. Step one done. She was anxious. With shaky hands, she dialed the number she had memorized months ago. With each digit, she grew more nervous, and then it was ringing. What would she even say? What would he say? Would he pick up? Would he let it ring as some form of punishment? Would he be angry? Sad? Indifferent? Happy to hear from her?

Nothing. No one picked up. Beth tried two more times, more calmly. If he didn't pick up the first time, why would he pick up the second or third time? She had a feeling that he probably wasn't home, or he sensed it was her calling and decided to ignore it.

So she went to sleep. Her mind was swirling with images of bottles and pills, Benny, her cats. What could have been Benny doing if he wasn't home? Probably gambling somewhere, earning extra cash by playing and winning at speed chess. Maybe he was playing poker for a change, he was good at that too. Maybe he was with a girl. Beth quickly shook that thought out of her head and focused on falling asleep.

Sun rays woke Beth up in the morning. She wanted to spend some more time in her bed, just laying there, not worried about anything. But then she heard two hungry kittens meowing at her inches from her face. She didn't have the heart to let them starve for a minute longer.

“Good morning.” She said to them as she opened her eyes. She got out of the bed quickly and headed for the stairs. Beth knew the kittens were following close behind, clumsily trying to keep up, that was why she was very cautious of where she put her feet. She filled their bowls with food and water and walked to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for herself. Since she stopped drinking, she realized how little she used to eat. Her eating habits were another thing she was trying to get on the right track. _I am a twenty-year-old woman. I need food to be healthy. I need to eat to function._ She told herself whenever she considered skipping a meal.

The house was silent until the sound of knocking on the front door pulled Beth out of her thoughts. She wasn't expecting anyone that day, let alone at such an early hour. _It's not even seven._

She made her way to the door, turned the doorknob, and opened the door slowly. The first thing she saw was a black worn-out trench coat, then a cowboy hat, and then her eyes were met with a pair of dark brown ones. 

“Hello, champion.” He said proudly.

“Benny.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you, who asked me about Benny showing up, I hope I calmed you down. Again, if you have some thoughts to share, please do so in the comment section, I would love to read them.


	3. Seek out the sunny spots in the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, after a week I’m back with another chapter. It took longer than I thought, I finished exam season a week ago and I wanted to take a break from looking at screens of any kind because this online school thing is really not good for my eyes and I was having a lot of headaches. That and I’ve been working on a Valentine one-shot for Beth and Benny, so look out for that. 
> 
> This is the chapter SO MANY of you have been waiting for and it’s been fun to write. It’s also the longest chapter so far. Let me know what you think in the comments :)

_ Cat advice for living:  _

3\.  _ Seek out the sunny spots in the house. _

“H-how did you get here?” Beth’s voice was quiet. It was also a bit hoarse, she barely got out of bed and was still in her pajamas and her hair looked like a mess. Not to mention her brain hadn’t fully kicked in yet. And on the other side of her threshold, stood Benny, in all of his glory, looking good as usual.

“Well, I drove, of course.” He stepped to the side so Beth could see his little pale blue Beetle parked in front of her house.

“But...why?” Benny’s face turned from neutral to slightly offended.

“I wanted to congratulate you, in person. I know I could’ve called, but… it didn’t seem proper.”

This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wanted to talk to him, yes, over the phone. Having him physically in front of her was a completely different thing. Now she couldn’t just hang up the phone if he said something she wasn’t ready to hear. Apart from that, she felt like all those times before where she needed someone’s supervision. She had been doing so good on her own, minding her own business, learning chess, caring for her cats, learning to care for herself. She wanted to tell Benny, politely, to go back to New York, tell him that she’s thankful for what he had done for her, but she was her biggest priority at that moment. Something inside didn’t let her do that though. She missed him too much. And Benny was one of the few rare things in her life that were good for her. Jolene’s words from the previous night echoed in her head and she knew sending Benny on his way would be wrong.

“How did you know I was here?” Her voice was a little louder than before.

“I called a few days after your match with Borgov, but no one picked up, so I assumed you were still in Russia or on your way home. And last night, well, that was a strange phone call. A woman called. She introduced herself as Jolene and said she was your sister? She said you were here and-” Benny didn’t get to finish his sentence. He was caught off guard when Beth threw her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. It took him a few seconds to regain his poise and he returned the hug.

“She called you last night?”

“Yeah.” Beth thought about the words. What if he didn’t pick up his telephone, because he was already on his way to her?

“You drove the whole night?” She pulled away to look him in the face.

“Yeah, but I’m fine, I just… had to see you.” Benny's eyes were glued to her and she felt like she was going to burn under his stare. She looked good, healthy. Her hair was as fiery as he remembered, a little longer now and obviously, unstyled. Still beautiful, though. He couldn’t take his eyes off her face. She looked a bit different, but he couldn’t pinpoint the reason.

“Do you want to come in?” The words held more weight to Beth than Benny could’ve imagined. She wasn’t just talking about the house, she was also talking about her world that she was currently in the middle of redecorating.

“Well, if you’ll have me.” He reached for something on the ground next to the door and only then she noticed he had his duffle bag with him. Beth stepped inside and held the door open for him. 

Her eyes quickly scanned the room in search of two furballs, but she couldn’t see them. 

They didn’t talk much after that, Benny excused himself to go to the bathroom while Beth quickly set up the guest bedroom for him and got changed into some decent clothes. It felt strange having him in her house, knowing that he was in her space. Did he ever feel like that when she was staying with him?

As if on cue, they met by the stairs at the same time and walked downstairs together. Beth went to the kitchen to make something for breakfast, she assumed that Benny hadn’t eaten anything since the previous night and she was getting hungry.

In the meantime, Benny entertained himself with the chess game she had set in her living room the previous day, going over the moves and Beth’s notes. 

Neither of the chess geniuses noticed two little cats that came out of their hiding spot. Benny was considering several middle game strategies when he felt something rub against his leg. To say he was surprised by the sight of two small cats would be an understatement. He was positively perplexed and his brain stopped working for a fraction of a second. 

“Uhh, Beth?” He shouted.

“Yeah?” She was finishing her scrambled eggs and serving them on two plates.

“Why do you have cats in your house?” Benny set down the notes and a white rook he held in his hands and picked up the white kitten, who was instantly fascinated by the shiny necklaces dangling on his chest. He held the kitten in place while walking to the kitchen to show Beth, hoping he wasn’t causing the animal any discomfort. The black kitten was eagerly following the stranger close behind.

“I have two cats now,” Beth said plainly as she put two plates to the kitchen table. Elise, as soon as she caught sight of Beth, wiggled out of Benny’s hold and ran to her.

“Huh, that actually seems oddly fitting for you,” Benny said cautiously. In fact, he didn’t really know what to say. What is an appropriate thing to say to a new cat owner? Congratulate them? Wish them the best? He was at a loss for words.

The remark made Beth chuckle when she remembered her friend's words from the previous night. Benny took off his hat and the duo ate their scrambled eggs in peace. 

“How did you even get them?” Benny was the first one to break the silence as Beth stood up to put the dirty plates in the sink. She turned to face him and leaned against the kitchen counter.

“That… is an interesting story.” Both cats were in the room with them, surveying the newcomer with curious eyes. “After I came back from Russia, I decided to work on myself and stop with the drinking and drugs. I gathered all the bottles in the house and there were… more than I thought.” Thinking about the four bags, she felt ashamed.”They wouldn’t all fit in my garbage can so I took them to the nearest dumpster I could find. When I was ready to leave, I heard weak meows from under it and then I was taking home two small kittens.” She smiled to herself at the memory.

“What are their names?” Beth knew this question was coming.

“The black one is Benjamin.” Benny perked up at the name and gave Beth a peculiar look. She already knew what he was thinking. ”And the white one is Elise.” 

The look on Benny’s face was similar to the one he gave her after she said she didn’t want to set it up and think it out. That mix of adoration, amusement, and curiosity that might have angered her back then, all those years ago. Now she wanted to laugh and maybe jokingly hit him in the shoulder.

“Benjamin and Elise, huh?” Was the first thing he said.”Was there any specific inspiration behind the names?” He asked slowly. 

Beth avoided eye contact with Benny, looking everywhere around her, but him. She didn't have to look to feel his intense gaze. “Not really, no, why are you asking?” The pitch of her voice was a bit higher than usual, but she couldn’t help it.

“I just…” Benny subconsciously scratched the back of his neck and Beth could feel warmth in her cheeks. “Well, it didn’t escape my attention that Elise sounds a lot like the first half of your name and Benjamin is my full name, that I just never go by.” Beth already knew all those things. He knew she knew, apparently. She just watched as Benny picked up both kittens and placed them in his lap. 

"Hey, little fellas. I’m Benny Watts." Beth could not believe what she was seeing. Benny Watts was introducing himself to two kittens and even shaking their paws. She had to pinch herself, she never thought she’d see this. It was good while it lasted, seconds later the kittens jumped down and ran off somewhere.

“Are… you mad?” She asked quietly.

“What? No! The one and only Beth Harmon, an internationally recognized chess phenomenon, decided to name one of her cats after me?” He said with so much theatricality in his voice, she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “Someone call the Chess Review right now, we have a hot take.” Beth burst out laughing and was thankful that Benny stopped talking for a moment. She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed so much at something that it made her cry. It took a few moments for her to catch her breath again.

“Are you mad that I never called?” Beth was still a bit out of breath, and maybe it was too soon to ask. The question had the potential to ruin a happy moment, but she needed to know.

Benny took a deep breath and stood up. He took off his coat and hung it over the back of the chair before answering. “I was, yes. But I told you not to call me, so I guess I deserved it. I… I know what I said to you, and I... “ Benny Watts always had the perfect thing to say, and here he was, speechless, for the second time that day. ”After I put the phone down, it dawned on me what I had just said. Felt like shit. And I... I’m not good at talking about my feelings” He laughed bitterly at himself before continuing. “I wanted to go to Russia with you, be there when you won, more than anything. But I was angry when you pushed me away and I let my anger get the best of me. For that, I’m sorry. I get it why you didn’t want to talk to me, I wouldn’t want to talk to me either.” It was Beth’s turn to make a move.

“You’re here now, that’s what matters.” She walked towards the table that Benny was propped up against and stood next to him. “I’m sorry that I pushed you away. I know that you and everyone else wanted the best for me. To be honest, I guess I didn’t want the best for me. So… I suppose a thank you is in order. For not giving up on me, for showing up for me, for being my most loyal fan club. And in case of any future fallouts, I would never not want to talk to you.”

They stood there for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes until Beth moved one step closer and put her head on Benny’s shoulder. Neither of them wanted to break the silence by saying the wrong thing.

Benny was the first of the two to muster up the courage to say something. “Tell me about Russia.” His voice was tender.

They sat down together on the couch and Beth told him about how beautiful Moscow was, the players she played, how exactly she won her games, how alone she felt when she saw the Soviets in a room together during the adjournment planning Luchenko’s next moves. How nerve-wracking the game with Borgov was. Gradually they switched from sitting to lying position. Even though the couch was a bit too small for two people, they found a way to make it work. Beth wanted to ask if he ever visited the Sokolniki park. But then she heard light snores and felt the steady movements of Benny's chest against her arm. She looked up at his face to see that truly, his eyes were closed, expression neutral and a single strand of hair had fallen into his eyes. 

Beth didn’t have the heart to wake him. Quietly she got up from the couch and fetched a pillow and a blanket for Benny. By the time she got back, her side of the couch was occupied by two four-legged furry friends. Elise was curled in the crook of his neck and Benjamin was sprawled across the remaining space, taking up most of it. Beth placed the pillow next to his head and draped the blanket over him carefully, carefully the kittens. She strategically placed the blanket so that he could be as warm as possible, even though he knew that the cats had that covered, there was no chance he would be cold. In one delicate move, she pushed the hair in his face back and studied his sleeping form for a moment. She got a sudden urge to kiss him on the forehead, she didn’t even know why, but she wanted to do it and Beth Harmon tends to do what she wants. 

For the next few hours, she took up temporary residency in her sun-illuminated bedroom, alternating between playing chess, reading a book, and checking on Benny and the cats every now and then. She had learned to appreciate the sunny days recently. She already had too many gloomy moments in her life, more than one person should have. So she decided to focus on the good things in life, things that brought a little bit of light into her world. All the things in her life that had the most potential to bring her the most happiness were curled up on her couch downstairs. 


	4. Take stretch breaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to say one thing... now that Beth Harmon has cats, Benny Watts has cats too. Enjoy! :)

_ Cat advice for living: _

  1. _Take stretch breaks._



Benny and the kittens got acquainted quickly. Well, they weren’t really kittens anymore. They resembled healthy adult cats now. No longer the dirty and scrawny kittens Beth found a few months ago.

At first, she was worried that Benny’s initial infatuation with the cats would fade quickly, that he would find them rather annoying. But the opposite seemed to have happened. He didn’t mind the cats roaming around, jumping on him, or asking for attention. He even offered to clean the litterbox a few times a week and bathed the cats twice. It was quite brave that he tried to do it the second time. Some situations that Beth got to witness were straight-up bizarre and she didn’t think that anyone would believe her if she told them.

“Okay, so, now you need to listen, this is very important. I’m going to show you how to play the Sicilian Defence. That’s your mom’s favorite.” Beth could hear Benny’s voice from the living room as she was coming down the stairs. To say she was intrigued by the conversation would be an understatement. She walked in to see Benny showing the cats some pictures in his book. 

“Benny, we talked about this.” He looked at Beth who was standing above him with arms crossed. “You can’t teach the cats chess.” She said the sentence with a dramatic pause after every word and very passionate hand gestures. Maybe this time the words would finally stick in his brain. Probably not. He just gave her an amused look.

“No, no, no, no, no, no.” Beth tried to say something. “Shhhhush, will you?” She rolled her eyes and stood defeatedly. “I am telling you, they  _ are _ getting it.” Benny’s gesticulation was somehow even more enthusiastic. “You never gave them a chance, they may be cats but their little kitty brains are very clever.” The redhead sat on the ground opposite the blond, so they could be on the same level for what she was about to tell him.

“Benny, I hate to break it to you, but it’s their time for lunch and they were probably only hanging around with you because they thought you would feed them,” Beth said in a sickeningly compassionate voice. Benny faked heartbreak by dramatically placing his hand where his heart his and Beth took his other hand into hers, offering support.

After the cats were fed, Beth and Benny continued their day by studying recent games. This was a familiar routine for them. Play out different games, exchange ideas and strategies, look for mistakes. They often got lost in the chessboard, forgetting about the world. Sometimes they would come back around when they noticed it was getting dark and they needed to light up in the house to see properly. Another habit Beth was trying to get under control.

“I’m going to get a glass of water.” She stood up abruptly, stretched her arms behind her back, and walked to the kitchen, not giving Benny a moment to say anything. His head shot up when he heard the words because they had nothing to do with chess. She came back seconds later, with a glass in her hand. Benny watched her as she sat down and they continued where they left off.

The same thing happened again in an hour and then again.

“You’re not thirsty? We’ve been studying for nearly 4 hours.” Beth said before she stood up again to grab herself another glass. 

“No, not really,” Benny replied and played with a random piece in his fingers.

Beth came back with two glasses of water this time and passively-aggressively put one of them in the middle of the chessboard with a loud thud. Benny Watts could take a hint. He drank the liquid in the glass all at once. 

It didn't take them long to finish the game in front of them. They both decided to take a break. 

“I need to go grocery shopping, there’s nothing for dinner,” Beth suggested.

“You mean  _ we _ need to go shopping. Come on, Beth, how long have I been staying here?”

“I don’t know, a little over a month.” She grabbed a piece of paper and pen and started writing down a list of things to buy. She mindlessly scribbled apple juice as the first thing.

“Ha. One month, two weeks, and four days.” The accuracy made Beth look up from the list, only to see nothing but adoration in the blond’s eyes. She could feel her cheeks getting red, so she shifted her focus back to the grocery list.

They’d been grocery shopping together too many times and Benny stopped offering to drive them there. Beth liked to walk. “It is a textbook example of a walking distance, Benny,” she said to him when they went the first time.

The walk was peaceful. They didn’t talk much, instead, they took in the fresh air, light breeze hitting their faces, and the sounds of a suburban neighborhood. Benny was walking with his hands behind his back, whistling occasionally. He’d learned that most of Beth’s neighbors were conservative Christian families. Every time they met a middle-aged lady, he would tip his hat, give them a dazzling smile and greet them with “good afternoon, ma’am”. Beth would snort at their reactions most of the time. And then Benny told her that he did that because it made her laugh.

Her neighbors didn’t like him very much. At first, it was because of his appearance. Then it was because they were living in her house together as an unwed couple. Neither Beth nor Benny cared about other people’s opinions, especially not when there were getting ready for sleep every night in their respective bedrooms. 

“The federation called today,” Benny spoke up.

“Oh? What about?” 

“They said that there is this invitational in Nashville in three weeks and they called to ask if you’d be interested. And they sort of invited me too once they realized who picked up the phone.”

“Did you agree to go?” Beth asked hesitantly. 

“No, not yet. I wanted to ask if you’d want to go. You know, we could drive down there together. It’s around three to four hours of driving. No pressure though, if you don’t want to start entering tournaments yet, that’s fine.”

“No, I’d like to go. I think I’ve had a long enough break, I’ve been missing the looks on my opponents’ faces when I crush their souls.” Beth said smugly and Benny chuckled. “But, Benny, what about the cats? We can’t take them with us. Someone’s going to have to cat-sit while we’re gone,” Beth said worriedly.

“Who’d you have in mind?”

“Well, Harry and Annette live the closest,” Beth suggested. 

“No, not Beltik.” Benny dismissed quickly.

“What? Why not? He loves the cats and they would take good care of them.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly my problem.” 

Beth shot Benny a look. “Don’t tell me the great grandmaster Benny Watts is worried that my cats would like someone more than him. You know what? Nevermind, it’s actually kind of cute.” 

“Hah, It makes me happy that you enjoy my suffering. And don’t call me cute. What about Jolene?”

“That could work, we would have to drive to Louisville to drop them off though. I’ll call her and ask if she’ll have time.”

“How about Mike and Matt?”

“They’re in college and I don’t want to burden them. but I’ll call them.” Beth got a new idea. “Cleo could come over.”

“No, absolutely not.”Benny shook his head. 

“Why? She loves the cats and she said she would drop everything and everyone to come to hang out with them. Also, I remember very vividly that when she was here, the cats just gravitated towards her. They would not leave her alone.”

“Everyone at one point gravitates towards Cleo. And to be honest, I’m still bitter about what she did in Paris.” 

Beth groaned. “I made my peace with it. And besides, it’s not like she dragged me out of my hotel room to a bar. She asked and I said yes.”

“I know, I just got used to having a grudge against her for that.” Benny’s voice was small, he knew she had a point.

“Well, better get used to letting go of it. You’re both my friends, I can’t have you disliking each other for something, that doesn’t even matter anymore.”

“I’m a friend now?” He asked with a cheeky grin.

Beth rolled her eyes as they were about to walk into the store. “Oh, shut up.”

The grocery store was the same as any other day. Maybe a bit more vacant. It was late afternoon, the day was shifting into the night and most people who stopped to shop on their way from work were already home.

Benny was pushing the cart and Beth was by his side as they were walking through all the aisles, looking at everything. They always came with a list of things they want to buy, but around one-third of what they ended up bringing home was spontaneous.

“Look, they have this great bargain for apple juice.” Benny gasped and excitedly walked to the shelf that had a large and colorful “2+1 for free” poster next to it. He ended up putting three bottles in the cart. They grabbed a lot of fruit. Mainly berries, Beth discovered that she liked munching on small pieces of fruit at random times throughout the day. Benny grabbed apples for himself, because of course. They also took a lot of eggs. And a lot of other normal stuff that normal people buy.

Beth left Benny alone for a moment to find coffee. In the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the alcohol aisle. She stopped. Turned her head and stared. She knew she should walk away from there and go get whatever she was supposed to get. She knew she could force her eyes to look away and legs to move. But she didn't. There was a man, looking over wine bottles, he didn't notice Beth. She, on the other hand, noticed the man's appearance. He was dressed up in a suit, but his hair was all messy, his shirt was not tucked in and he was having trouble maintaining his balance. He was drunk, or at least tipsy.

Beth wondered if this was what she looked like. If this was how other people saw her. Sure, she was at her lowest point, but people don't care about what you're going through. They only see that you're not handling it and then your neighbors give you judgemental looks when you're taking out the trash, which happens to be all empty bottles.

Suddenly she felt a pull. Someone's arms around her shoulders turned her away from the liquor aisle.

“Hey, I found these cereals, but I need help choosing a flavor. Do you want chocolate or nuts? They also have a bunch of fruit flavors, but they're not as good. Maybe some fruity ones? We had the strawberry flavor last time, maybe we could go for something else. ” It was Benny. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lead her away.

“You okay?” He spoke quietly when they reached the cereal aisle.

“Yea, I'm fine.” She turned towards the shelf. “Let's take chocolate.” Benny put the box in the cart.

They ended up paying for two full paper bags of groceries. Beth grabbed the lighter one while Benny took the heavier one.

As soon as they stepped out, they regretted that they didn’t drive that one time. It was raining. Not much, but it was the kind of drizzle that would leave you soaked in the matter of a few minutes. Before Beth could say anything, she felt something on her head and her shoulders. She turned to Benny who was now hat and duster-less.

“Benny, come on, you’re going to get soaked.” She protested and put the hat back on his head. 

“Not if we hurry back, let’s go.” Once again he gave the hat to Beth and took off at a brisk pace. Beth had no other choice but to accept the gesture and try to keep up.

“I wasn’t thinking about wanting to drink.” Beth let out suddenly. She didn’t expect a reply, she just felt like she had to inform him. “When you caught me staring at the aisle. I wasn’t tempted.”

“Okay.” That was all he said and Beth was glad. 

The closer to home they got, the more relentless the rain was becoming. The closer they got, the less she cared about the rain. She was already soaked anyway, so she slowed down and listened to the sounds of her steps on the pavement and raindrops hitting the leather of the coat that was lent to her.

When they finally reached her front porch, Beth unlocked the door but didn’t go in. Instead, she took off the hat, tossed it gently inside, and stepped out into the rain, letting it hit her face. Out of nowhere, she got a sudden urge to jump and dance in the rain. She’d never done that before. She never really liked the rain. But this was a  _ good _ rain. So she started jumping around and occasionally lifted her legs and arms like a ballerina. She was certain she looked more like a crazy person.

“Beth? What are you doing?” She heard Benny and looked at him. He was leaning against a pillar.

“Having fun. Wanna join?” Without another word, he marched towards her. With a tender look on his face, grabbed her hand slowly and twirled her around a few times. He didn’t take his eyes off her for one second and watched as she burst into giggles. It took seven spins for Beth to start feeling a little dizzy, so she stopped and turned to Benny. 

“I like your hair,” Benny said casually and pushed a strand of hair behind Beth’s ear. To some passerby, they might both look like two soaked rats, but Beth was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

“I like your hair too.” They both laughed and Beth used the moment to step closer. “And I fell in love with you.”

Benny looked shocked for a moment and Beth was worried that she said the wrong thing. That maybe he didn’t feel the same and it was a stupid idea.

He took her hands in his. “I’m glad to hear that, because I fell in love with you, too.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against Beth’s. An activity that to him was as natural as moving pieces across a chessboard. This kiss was soft and somewhat shy. There was no firework show or sparks flying. But neither of them could ignore the warm fuzzy feeling they had.

Beth was the first one to pull away. “I think we should go inside.”

They didn’t sleep in different beds that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to Love Story (Taylor's Version) a lot, along with Fearless while writing this chapter, can you tell?


	5. Stay curious and discover new things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, this is the last chapter of this story. It feels weird for me to say that even though I finished this chapter earlier this week, but then I had classes and school work to do and I wanted to give myself enough time to publish it. So... here it is, I have some things to say in notes at the end, so watch out for that :)

_ Cat advice for living: _

  1. _Stay curious and discover new things._



One day Beth sneaked up on Benny with an odd request.

“Teach me to drive.”

Benny nearly felt his soul leave his body and almost dropped the cup in his hand. “Jesus, Beth. Do you want to give me a heart attack?” He turned to her with his hot cup of coffee that he finished making. Beth was standing with her hands laced behind her back and swinging from heels to toes like a child waiting to see if their parents would let them go play outside. She didn’t realize how quiet she was, she really thought Benny heard her come in. Maybe she learned a thing or two from her two cats.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She followed him as he walked to the couch, still waiting for an answer.

“Since when do you want to learn to drive?” He sipped on his coffee, sat down, and set the cup on the table in front of him. He wasn’t condescending about the wish, just a bit curious.

“Since about five minutes ago. I kind of feel bad about making you drive me nearly everywhere. And I should know how to drive at my age.” She made herself comfortable next to the blond.

“I don’t mind driving you to places. And there are people who live their entire lives without a driver’s license. But sure, we can start today.”

Beth gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you.”

“Speaking of driving,” Benny started, “I’m going to have to drive to New York to check on my apartment, wipe the dust, sort through the mail, that kind of stuff.”

“Okay.” Beth just nodded and stroked the cats that were now rubbing against her legs.

“And I’ve been thinking.” Benny’s careful tone made Beth listen attentively. “That there isn’t really anything waiting for me in New York anymore.” He said slowly, eyes watching out for any reaction in Beth’s face.

“Oh.” Beth was stunned and couldn’t seem to find a thing to say.

“Listen, forget I said anything. I just wanted to let you know that within a week, probably, I’ll drive up there.” He shuffled awkwardly on the couch and took another sip of his coffee, hoping that the weird atmosphere between them would disperse quickly. 

“I like New York.” Now it was Benny’s turn to be speechless.

“May I ask why?”

Beth shrugged. “I have a lot of good memories from New York. Many more than from anywhere else in the world” Benny smiled softly. “Well, maybe Moscow, but I think once you take a girl to New York, you can’t take New York out of her.”

“So you’re saying that… you want to move in with me?”

Beth hesitated for a moment. “Now that you mention it…” She played with the hem of her light brown cardigan, feeling nervous out of sudden. “Maybe we could get our own place. You know, someplace with windows where the sun shines during the day.”

“My apartment may be a glorified crack den, but it has its charm.” They both laughed, knowing that the words were not true. “So we’re moving to New York?” Benny asked once their laughter subsided. He found himself needing affirmation, the question was meant more for himself than Beth. 

“Yeah, I guess we’re moving to New York,” Beth confirmed in an earnest tone.

“New York is going to be so much better with you.” He reached out his hand, motioning for Beth to come closer. They sat there in silence for a moment, letting the decision sink in.

“There is something we have to do.” Benny could only watch Beth stand up and dash out of the room. Seconds later she came up, one cat in each hand, and placed them on the couch between her and Benny.

“Hey, so, you guys might want to sit down for this.” Benny was having a hard time keeping down his laugh. Every time he watched Beth Harmon, the chess champion, talk to her cats as if they were actual people, he thought how thin the line between crazy and genius is. He didn’t think that she was crazy, just that nearly every single genius in history had their uncommon habits. And it was endearing hearing the conversations. And he talked to them too. Maybe they were both crazy.

Beth watched as Elise made herself comfortable leaning against Benny and Benjamin turned himself into a loaf.

“Great, so… We have something to tell you. All four of us will be moving to New York soon.” As if the cats understood what she was saying, they gave Beth surprised looks. “Isn’t that exciting?” Both cats meowed. “Benny, do you have something to say?”

“Uhhh…” His left hand mindlessly stroked Elise’s white fuzzy fur. “No, I think you covered the basics.”

The next few weeks were spent figuring out the technicalities of moving, going over everything Beth had in her house, and sorting all her belongings into boxes. It was a weird trip down memory lane. First thing, she packed all her trophies, books, and other chess-related stuff. Next, she went through all the pictures and decorations scattered around her house. As she held one of the many abstract paintings and looked at it, she got an idea. “Maybe I could try painting,” she said to herself and Benny happened to be around to hear it. “You can do anything you put your mind to.” He stopped to give her a brief kiss on her hair when walking by with a box in his hands.

She went through all her clothes. That took longer than expected. Not only because only then she realized she had an obsessively large amount of clothing, Each piece had a memory tied to it. The skirt she wore in Las Vegas when Benny beat her. The shirt she wore when she beat him in Ohio. The green dress from Paris. The light-grey dress she wore when she beat Borgov in Moscow. She decided to keep all of those. Benny said they were renting a moving truck, so she didn’t have to worry about the space.

She briefly went through her make-up, she didn’t have too much of it. When her eyes landed on the many black eyeliners she had, she remembered how she used to draw her eyeliner underneath her eyes when she was at her lowest point. She cringed. Back then it looked to her. But then Benny once found an old newspaper from that day and made a lighthearted joke about how she looked like a raccoon. She couldn’t unsee it. Then he tried to get back into her good graces by saying that raccoons were cute. Cat eyeliner suited her better anyway.

She found a picture of her mom. It was bittersweet, holding her picture in her hands. She couldn’t bear to part with it back when she redecorated the house and she definitely couldn’t do it now.

She wanted to bring the piano with her. She didn’t play it often, even though it crossed her mind several times that she would like to learn. Alma had taught her one song, it was simple, yet the melody was rare enough. To her, it felt like it was their song. Every now and then she would sit down on the piano bench and try to use her very basic note scale knowledge to come up with something that would sound good. Eventually, she would always go off key at some point and she would feel horrible. She couldn’t shake this feeling that she was somehow disrespecting the memory of her mother and she would not touch the piano for weeks.

Benny asked some of the guys for help with loading the truck. It took them a few hours to fill it with boxes and some furniture and the house was empty. Beth arranged for the piano to be professionally moved. While Benny was busy talking with Mike, Matt, and Harry, Beth sneaked inside. It was strange seeing the house like this, bare of any personal belongings. She found herself standing in the doorway of her old bedroom. The whole process of selling the house and moving turned out to be quite cleansing for Beth. She thought about the family that bought the house. They seemed nice. They had a little girl and a baby on the way. She remembered that the little girl was eight and loved the cats and asked her parents if they could get one, they agreed. It never really occurred to her that the girl might get the room she was currently standing in. She would have her own furniture and belongings. Beth wondered who she would grow up to be.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you. We should go now if we want to get to New York at a decent time.”

"I'll be right there” 

Benny went through a similar process in his apartment, although for him it wasn’t as sentimental. There wasn’t much about it to be missed. He gathered his clothes, jewelry, trophies, books, magazines, and other stuff, all within a day. He ended up throwing away more stuff than keeping. Most of the things came with the place when he moved in.

Beth and Benny were in the middle of assembling some new furniture that they got, arranging it, brainstorming ideas for what colors their walls should be. It was physically and mentally exhausting. At some point Beth found herself dozing off sitting on the floor, her head resting on one of the many boxes. She was jolted awake when someone walked across her stomach. She saw Benjamin walk away from her, heading to the window. There she noticed Elise was curled up on the window ledge. She got up and followed the black cat.

“Hey, how do you like this place so far?” She stroked Elise under her chin, who immediately started purring. Benjamin lightly tapped her other hand, asking for pets too. “Do you like this view? It’s gorgeous.” It truly was. she didn’t get to take it in yet. it wasn’t that breathtaking, but it was nice. She could see the road below, lined with trees on both sides, an apartment building similar to theirs on the other side of the road. She could see people out and about. She stepped back from the window and made her way to the kitchen. “Come on, I know you’re hungry.”

For the first few days, Beth was worried about what they would do about the cats if they had to travel outside New York for tournaments. In Lexington, she had her friends, always willing to help. Sure, one of them could stay in New York with the cats, maybe some hotels would allow them to bring them if she asked nicely.

All of those troubles were resolved when she accidentally bumped into a neighbor when carrying a box upstairs. It was a girl a bit older than Beth, her name was Taylor, she had three cats and when Beth asked her once time if she would mind cat-sitting two more sometimes, she excitedly replied with “the more, the merrier”. She also happened to have a cat, whose name was Benjamin. Beth thought it was a funny coincidence and Benny was delighted, saying that he had the best name. Beth also noticed various art supplies and a black piano in Taylor’s apartment and asked if she was any good. A few days later, she gifted Beth a songbook for beginners and a set of canvases, brushes, and paints as a housewarming gift. She also got a beautiful antique chess board for Beth and Benny, which left Beth speechless and Benny could only let out a low whistle. 

Beth grew to love New York City. Most chess tournaments took place in the city, so they didn’t have to worry about traveling. There was a small corner in Central Park where she and Benny often went to play. It kept her mind stimulated in other ways too. Benny was thrilled to show Beth the sights in New York. Starting with the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty, then they visited all the museums together, where Beth broadened her knowledge on other fields. Beth loved Fifth Avenue. It reminded her of Champs-Élysées in Paris. There were stores with some of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. They found themselves spending a lot of time at the New York Public Library. The World Championship was coming up and if Beth wanted to get that title, she needed to study hard. It was Beth who noticed that there was a decent collection of books on chess, some of which were written recently by Russian grandmasters. She nearly squealed when she noticed her own book on the shelf, but she had to keep quiet. Instead, she turned to Benny, who was a few feet away looking at some books too, and whisper-yelled his name while aggressively pointing at her picture on the cover. It was similar to when they studied in his apartment for five weeks, but it also wasn’t. Benny still pushes her to be better, to think. At the same time, he doubts if he has anything left to teach her. This time they’re studying together and teaching each other. 

On some of their more relaxed days, they would stay inside. They would play some chess, cook something, or order take-out. Beth would practice piano and Benny would join sometimes. Painting became quite popular with the cats, they were always around when she did that. Beth painted mostly different chess positions because they were fairly easy. It was just black and white or light and dark brown, minimal shading, two dimensional; very easy. She painted the checkmate when she beat Benny in Ohio and when Borgov resigned. When she felt more adventurous, she painted some landscapes, abstract enough to cover up any mistakes if she made them, but you could still tell if there was sunset, the sea, or the New York skyline. A lot of the paintings had paw prints on them.

“Benjamin, come on! Again?” Beth whined when he walked across her almost dry painting of a cloudy sky. Elise followed in her brother’s footsteps. Beth sighed. “Why don’t you bother your dad this much, huh?”

“Let them express themselves, besides meowing they don’t have many options,” Benny shouted from the kitchen, where he was prepping some light lunch.

“I love them, but between meowing at 2 am and running around like maniacs at random times of the day, I think they express themselves quite a lot.” She didn’t mind the paw prints.

They played a lot of smaller tournaments together, mostly invitationals. The finale was always between them. They never thought about themselves like that, but they were the best American chess players. Usually, Beth won, sometimes Benny, other times it was a draw.

One time Beth stumbled across a very chauvinistic piece written about her. The article was written with the intention to ridicule her for having two cats, labeling her as a “crazy cat lady”. Whatever that was supposed to mean, Beth thought it sounded fun. At the next tournament, she showed up wearing a custom-made dress with a cat print on it. She won first prize, as per usual.

The world championship was in London. Beth brought Benny with her and they fell in love with the city. They arrived a few days earlier, to recover from the jet-lag and to explore a little bit. They both knew that once the matches start, they would spend most of their time in their hotel room, reviewing the games, analyzing moves, coming up with strategies.

She won.

She won and she was so  _ goddamn _ proud.

Shortly after the last match was finished, before talking to the crowd of reporters, she searched for Benny. She basically ran to him and wrapped her arms around him so tightly, he couldn’t breathe for a second.

“I did it. I did it, Benny.” She repeated at least half a dozen more times.

“I always knew you could do it, you’re the best there is.”

Beth was elated. She knew she was the world champion, but the reality of it all didn’t hit until a few days later when they were home. Every time she was asked what it was like to be the world champion, she felt like she was talking about someone else. After a long day of doing interviews, she and Benny were comfortably settled on the opposite ends of the couch in their living room, tangled in blankets, two cats in their laps.

“Benny?”

“Hm?”

“What now?”

He gave her a curious look.”What do you mean?”

“What do I do now? I climbed to the mountaintop. I’m a world champion at the age of almost 22. That was all I wanted.” She took a breath. “A few years ago, in Mexico, Girev told me he wanted to be a world champion at sixteen, I asked him what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He couldn’t give an answer.”

“You can do whatever you want to do. The entire world is your chessboard. always has been, but now it’s official.”

The feeling that she had was similar to the one when she won in Russia. That sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, dappled with relief. She remembered how she felt like she could finally take a deep breath.

But there were some significant differences. When she won in Russia, she felt like she was alone. She wasn't, of course, but she didn't know that. This time she had someone to share that victory with. People she could high-five, people she could call. 

"I think I'm going to do what I've always done."

"Play chess?"

She nodded with a determined look on her face.

"Play chess." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the ending. I grew so attached to this story, I wanted it to be satisfying, you tell me if it is. 
> 
> 1\. Yes, that was Taylor Swift who made a brief cameo. I'm a huge swiftie and since I watched the show I wondered what it would be like if, in some universe, Taylor and Beth got to meet.
> 
> 2\. I don't know how realistic it is that NY Public Library would have new chess books, but for the sake of this story, let's say that they have access to them, okay?
> 
> 3\. There were a lot of moments that I wrote, that didn't make it into the actual story. I have an entire folder of deleted or unfinished scenes, so I'll definitely post that too, I just need to get them together.
> 
> 4\. Thank you so much for 100 kudos!!! 
> 
> 5\. The cat tips in this story were actually quarantine tips from a cat. I found a post from March last year, that I had saved on Instagram and I based this story around those five tips.


	6. Deleted scenes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so... I hope you liked the story, once again I want to thank you for all your kindness and as I promised, here are twelve scenes/ideas that I had. They didn't make story because they didn't serve the plot and most of them are kind of just super random and they're different scenarios I imagined when writing the story. Also, if you have any questions or theories or anything to say about the story, feel free to leave a comment :)

#1

It was 2 AM and Beth was sleeping until a faint noise woke her up.

"Mew." It was close. She propped herself on her elbows and looked for the source of the sound. She found one of her two kittens, sitting on the floor under the bed, next to her slippers.

"Oh, hey, El. Can't sleep?" She sat in an upright position before bending down to pick the kitten up.

She lay back down, on her side this time, and stroked the kitten's fur softly, until both of the girls fell asleep.

In the morning Beth woke up with slight pressure on her neck and collarbone. It was Elise, curled into a ball, comfortable in the crook of her neck. This happened a few times after that and Beth called it "cat scarf".

#2

Beth and Benny were playing chess in the kitchen in the early afternoon hours. All was calm. Until a series of screeching and hissing sounds erupted in the next room.

“Benj, El, can you guys please calm down?” Beth shouted, not looking up from the chessboard. She was in the middle of kicking Benny's ass. Again.

The sounds never subsided.

“Shouldn't you go and check on them?” Benny asked, admitting defeat.

“No, they're just playing.” Beth began setting up the board again.

“No, we are playing. They are at each other's throats.” He pointed towards the room the sounds were coming from.

Beth got up to investigate.

Seconds later Benny could hear silence. Beth came back, dusting off her hands after a job well done. 

#3

Beth decided that it was time for her other friends to meet the cats. So she and Benny organized a little get-together for their friends. She hadn't seen most of them in a long time and some thank you's were long overdue. Harry was the first one to arrive, with homemade lasagna. Benny was the one to open the door for him.

“Hey, man. Come in.” 

“Hey. And oh, hi. I knew that there would be cats, but I didn't expect that.” Elise and Benjamin were busy chasing each other across the house, occasionally bumping into people's legs. Benny and Beth were used to it. 

“They do that sometimes. The black one is Benjamin, here's a very good boy, if I do say so myself.” Benny said, walking with Harry to sit in the living room. “The white one is Elise, she's… his sister.” A pillow hit his face. He searched the room and found Beth giving him a death stare. He turned to speak to Harry once more.

“We may or may not have our favorites.” Another pillow.

“Okay, okay, I'm kidding, I love both of them equally, happy?” Elise came to smack Benny's arm repeatedly, before welcoming the visitor. 

#4

Benjamin was captivated by the light and warmth emitting from the oven. So much so, that when Benny opened it for a quick moment to check on the chicken inside, he nearly jumped in.

“No, buddy, you can’t go in there.” He scolded the cat.

“Meoow.” Benjamin was obviously not happy about the turn of events.

“Because you could die and then Beth would seriously hurt me.”

“Mew.” He hung his head and meowed sadly.

#5

It was Benny’s first night at Beth’s, he just got comfortable under the covers. Her bed was was more comfortable than his. He was slowly dozing off but a soft knock on the door woke him.

“Benny?” Beth opened the door quietly and popped her head in to see Benny.

“Yeah?”

“I just forgot to tell you that you can’t close the door completely. The cats like to be able to roam freely and if they can’t get somewhere, they will start meowing in the middle of the night.”

Benny snorted. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. Good night.”

“Good night.” Beth left the door slightly ajar and went to her room.

#6

Beth was enjoying a quiet night by herself, Benny was at Harry’s hanging out with the guys. He asked her if she wanted to come, but she insisted that she’d be fine by herself. She spent the evening playing chess, coming up with ideas for the book, playing with the cats. Basically her regular activities.

It was fairly late, around midnight, when she heard a knock on the door. It was Benny.

“Hey, did you have fun?” Beth asked when Benny stepped over the threshold. He didn’t answer right away and instead, got comfortable on the couch. Beth thought that was strange.

“You know I love you right? So so so so much.” That was unusual. Benny was usually affectionate with actions.

“Benny… are you drunk?” She sat down next to him and then she noticed the red eyes. “You’re high. You smoked pot?”

“Hh, maybe a little.” He giggled. She just watched Benny Watts  _ fucking _ giggle.

“Okay, how about we get you to bed?”

“Ahhhh, there’s my favorite princess.” Beth thought he was saying that to her, but no, Elise just walked into the room.

“Okay, I’ll try real hard not to feel offended,” Beth said to herself as the sight she was presented with got stranger and stranger.

Benny held the cat tightly to his chest and scratched her head a little too much. “Are you my favorite little snowball? Or a melting snowman? A miniature tiger? Are you the príncess of Meow Town?” Beth looked at the cat’s face. She was silently begging for help. 

“Ohhh-kay, Benny, I think that those some tough questions for a cat.” Somehow she managed to drag him upstairs and put him to bed.

#7

Beth and Benny were getting ready to go shopping, she waited for him at the door to come downstairs.

“Where’s your hat?” Was Beth’s first question.

“It’s warm outside, I don’t need it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Uh-huh, I’m not buying that.”

Benny took a deep breath. “The cats fell asleep in it.”

Beth gasped. “I have to see that.” She ran upstairs to Benny’s room and sure, on the bed, there was a cowboy hat, currently occupied by two sleeping cats.

#8

Elise and Benjamin were housecats, but that didn’t stop them from exploring their wild sides. They liked climbing up furniture and getting stuck, having to be rescued by Beth or Benny.

It was one of those days when Benjamin decided to get stuck on a bookshelf in the living room and resorted to meowing for help. Beth was the first one to notice.

“Oh, hey, everything okay up there?”

“Meoow.”

“I'm not sure if no one ever told you this, but you are not a squirrel.” 

“Mew-owww.”

“Okay, let’s get you down.” She reached for him, standing on her tiptoes, and set him on the floor.

#9

Benny was sitting on the couch, minding his business when Benjamin came to say hello.

“Hey, buddy.” Benny greeted the cat. The cat wasn’t satisfied, so he stood on his back legs and wrapped his front paws around Benny. He was giving him a hug and Benny was taken aback.

“Oh, ah, awww, thanks for the hug.” He returned the hug with one hand and Benji lay his head on Benny’s shoulder.

“Mrow.”

“You’re a real prince of the Kitty City, aren’t you?” 

“Meow.”

“Sooo, the princess of MeowTown and the prince of KittyCity?” Beth appeared in the doorway. “You are a cat dad through and through, Benny Watts.”

#10

It was one of the days when neither Beth nor Benny felt like cooking, so they ordered pizza. As soon as they set the boxes on a table, the cats claimed their spots on top of those warm square things. When they actually opened the boxes and started eating, it got even worse.

“No, El, pizza is people food, not cat food.” She didn’t care and nearly snatched the slice from Beth’s hand. “No!” Beth protected the slice. “Here, you can have one piece of salami, okay?”

“Meow.” Beth gave the cat the piece and for a moment she was safe.

Benny was fighting the same battle with Benjamin.

“No, dude, this is my food. You have your half-full bowl right there.” Benjamin was, furtunately for Benny, a little more respectful.

“Come on, guys, I raised you to be polite,” Beth said to the cats.

“Yeah, they turned out to be politely rude.”

“Whatever, they’re your kids now, too.” Beth said and bit into her pizza.

#11

Beth and Benny were lying in the bed one morning, awake, not quite ready to start the day yet. Benjamin and Elise noticed and decided to join their parents for morning snuggles. This was one of the situations when the cats had no idea of personal space.

“Hello, good sir.” Benny scratched Benjamin, who was attempting to kiss his face.

Meanwhile, Beth was dealing with Elise. “Hiii, hello, good morning.” She spoke to the cat softly. “Ow, owww,” she shrieked. “Not on my boob, please don’t stand on my boob. Ahhh, thanks.”

#12

Beth was still getting used to having two kittens in her house. Every day there was something new they did, some new sound they made, or some habit that she discovered.

During one afternoon she was in her kitchen, replaying some games when both the cats suddenly jumped up on the table. Benjamin sat down and started grooming himself, while Elise gently tapped the water glass that was empty.

She grabbed the glass and refilled it with fresh water, seconds later she sat back down. “Thank you for taking care of me.” 


End file.
